


Emulation

by Lilyliegh



Series: Camp Vrains AU [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Camp Vrains, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Demigods, Friendship, Gen, Magic-Users, Swordfighting, Training, getting stronger, jin's a cool big brother to all the demigods who want to become stronger and control their powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 17:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15976985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/pseuds/Lilyliegh
Summary: As a camp leader, it's natural that young demigods would look up to season veterns and aspire to be as mature and disciplined as them. However, Jin struggles with the attention and the pressure he believes this puts on demigods' shoulders; after all, no one can master their powers overnight. But maybe swordfighting with Ryouken, who has his own qualms with his powers, can help them both come to terms with being demigods.Based on the series Percy Jackson & the Olympians.Part of the Camp Vrains AU.





	Emulation

**Author's Note:**

> it's been a month since the last fic, hasn't it? well, i was technically on vacation for a couple weeks, and then a bunch of other stuff happened ^;; anyways, this AU hasn't been dropped yet, and at the rate Vrains' plot is moving, it's likely the full fic will soon be able to be planned. in the meantime, i'm taking requests for Camp Vrains one-shots, so please send them to [my askbox!]() Furthermore, i'm in the process of planning a Halloween special for the Disaster Trio based in the Camp Vrains verse, so look forward to that in October! 
> 
> anywho, if you want to learn more about the Camp Vrains AU, [check out these posts on my blog](https://lily-liegh.tumblr.com/tagged/camp%20vrains%20au) ^^  
> and if you would like to contribute to this series, with art or fic, please let me know and i'll make a larger collection. and of course, any ideas you have, please send them to either [me](https://lily-liegh.tumblr.com/ask) or [Darky](http://darkzorua100.tumblr.com/ask). thank you and i hope you enjoy!

"Did you hear the rumour?"

Jin turns his head away from the beautiful, dappling sunrise stretching out across Link Vrains, and towards Kusanagi, who ventures towards him with his hands tucked in the kangaroo pocket of his apron. He looks like he just rolled out of bed, hair all bedraggled and shaggy, but his eyes remain bright and focused. Caffeine, most likely; his brother his not a morning person.

"The rumour?"

Kusanagi chuckles and stretching out along the banister. He taps his fingers along the dewy, metal pole, and then smirks at Jin. "Apparently some new demigods think you're hot shit."

"Hot ..." Jin's ears turn as pink as the corners of the sunrise, and he ducks his head. Beneath him, the world stretches down into a great abyss. Even Jin, who's been at Camp Vrains for centuries, has never seen all of this refuge. There are some places he's just never bothered to venture before. But now as he hangs his head, he wonders if he can tip himself over the edge—not fall, just hang—and shake some of the embarrassment out of himself.

"Really?" he says, voice weak.

"You're a hero, be proud," Kusanagi says, clapping him on the back. "Once your lil secret gets out, the whole camp looks up to you."

"But they're good enough themselves ..."

"Well ..." Kusanagi clicks his tongue together. He reaches over and brushes Jin's bangs back. Shocked, Jin throws his head back, eyes as wide as the sun. Even if he and Kusanagi are half-brothers, Jin feels like he's the most important member of his family. It's been so long since he's seen either of his parents too. And yet, as soon as his mind draws up sentimental thoughts, Kusanagi yanks him over and catches him in a headlock.

"Mr. Popularity here—" He swings Jin around, who gasps and giggles as he tries to pull himself away "—needs to learn how to handle the spotlight and take some praise."

"I—I am," Jin says, wriggling himself from side to side to get out of his brother's headlock. "But—but those kids are themselves—"

"And they want you as a role model," Kusanagi says, and his tone sounds so deep and rich that Jin doesn't feel like arguing with him. He knows the routine; this isn't the first time the kids have rallied together to try and challenge him. But whereas Kusanagi sees competition as an engaging, thrilling match, Jin much prefers the demigods to learn on their own and look up to themselves and their friends. He's a camp leader, so of course he's a strong demigod with immense control over his power. Of course he'd look like the coolest person around.

But ...

Jin's teeth sink into his lips. Sometimes, he wonders if his excellence pressures demigods. Some of them come to the camp ready to master their powers overnight, only to become frustrated that they can't. And Jin hates it. He hates seeing the kids struggle and suffer. He hates watching them beat themselves up because they're still learning. And no matter what he does, he can't act like a reasonable role model to anyone when he's far above their level.

"Either way," Kusanagi says, "they're planning to challenge you this afternoon, so be ready."

He swallows.

"Don't overthink it," Kusanagi says, ruffling his hair. He lets him go, and Jin stumbles over to a nearby bench and sinks down into it. He cradles his head in his hands, and lets out a deep breath stuck in his lungs. He's overreacting. He knows it. Plus, there's no way of stopping them.

"You're a good role model."

"Sure ..."

"But y'know ..."

He leaves the thought hanging. Jin grumbles to himself, and raises his head. His brother does this sometimes: lead him halfway through a thought and then leave it hanging so that Jin has to nearly  _ beg  _ him to finish the sentence. This time, Jin just glares at his brother, blue eyes narrowed, until at last he relents with a heavy sigh.

"I'm just saying, why don't you challenge one kid? Like do it in private?"

"Private?" Jin raises an eyebrow. Among the demigods, he's somewhat of a celebrity. If he asked any kid around to challenge him to a swordfight or an archery match, no doubt half of the camp would overhear and all crowd around them. Camp Vrains may be the largest demigod retreat around, but somehow news travels faster than the speed of light. Besides, that still doesn't ease any of Jin's worries that he'll become some far-reaching role model for a new demigod still struggling with their powers.

"Yeah," Kusanagi says, scratching his chin. "Yeah, like invite one kid out to train with you. Help them out."

"You say that like that's easy," Jin says.

"It is." Spinning on his heel, Kusanagi turns around and points upwards. At Camp Vrains, there are various islands, or levels of land that are all connected by a giant, steel tower. Most of the camp operates on a couple of levels; however, there are other areas that just aren't frequented as often. They aren't dangerous by any means, at least not until you start heading out the camp's main perimeters, but the upper islands just don't have much to them. Jin's been up there and handful of times and only seen sparse greenery and abandoned forts.

"Up there."

Jin tilts his head too. "What's up there?"

"Nothing." Kusanagi smiles him. "No nosy kids, no demigods spying on you, no one to bother you. Just fly up there and experience peace and quiet."

Jin raises an eyebrow. "You been up there before?"

Kusanagi presses a finger to his lips and chuckles. "'Tis a secret."And with that, he spins on his heel and heads back towards the main city. As he leaves, he tosses over his shoulder, "I'd be worrying more over whose duel request you'll accept."

Jin swallows thickly, but before he can stumble out any sort of reply, Kusanagi disappears around the corner, leaving Jin with his brooding thoughts. All at once, Jin tumbles back into the bench with a groan. And just when he thought he had a decent strategy too. Of course now he has to think about who he wants to duel in private. It can't just be anyone, and he's bound to get more than one request. When this sort of thing happens, half the camp challenges him, all out for the glory of besting the great Kusanagi Jin.

He sighs to himself. Even without all the information, he knows Naoki will come and challenge him; he fancies Playmaker most of all, but he'll challenge Jin  _ in the name of Playmaker,  _ and to this day Jin still doesn't understand what that means. Then there are Aoi and Go, children of Nike who are hellbent on sniffing out any and all competition. By their godly blood neither of them can turn down a request, and Aoi probably still hasn't forgiven him for throwing her in the hotdog van to take to Camp Vrains. She's probably already looking for him right now.

Then ...

Colour drips away from his already-pasty complexion. There's the Disaster Trio: Yuusaku, Takeru, and Ryouken; three duelists who always seem to find themselves in mischief. Of them, only Takeru and Ryouken would challenge him to a duel; Yuusaku, with his karma powers that inflict instant physical damage to anyone who tries to hurt him, never engages in any sort of friendly conflict. Yet Ryouken and Takeru would both rise to the challenge, and the results would be disastrous. Jin has never met a demigod with such poor control of their powers as Takeru. He doesn't want to berate the poor kid who he's certain tries to master his fire powers, yet the sheer amount of destruction Takeru  _ alone  _ has caused is equivalent to the loss of an entire city. Then there's Ryouken, who has a penchant for activating Yuusaku's karma powers and creating destruction.

Then there's Spectre, the most gifted demigod Jin's ever come across, and every day Jin wishes that Spectre would use his powers wisely and safely and not incite trouble for everyone.

Fat chance.

Rubbing his chin, Jin tilts his head up to the next island. His brother's suggestion does make a lot of sense, he has to admit. It would be a great chance to meet one-on-one with a demigod and help them improve their abilities. And as one of the camp leaders who helps demigod master their abilities, Jin has previous teaching experience. This wouldn't be any different. But whereas a class focuses on theoretical and practical aspects and mainly caters to abilities, this would be personal training for one student alone, and ...

He sinks his teeth into his lip.

_ Be a role model ... doesn't that just put pressure on everyone's shoulders? _

His heart gives one last leap into his throat, and then it settles, the rhythm slow and gentle. As his pulse softens, his ears prick to another noise: a thunking sound. By its own rhythm, Jin assumes it can't be anything but the sound of the someone fighting, but the noise isn't reminiscent of swords clinking together, nor any other sort of engaged fight. It even sounds like one person too, their footfalls light and dainty. To anyone else, the sounds would be impossible to hear, but Jin's senses are heightened to perceive any and all danger around him.

Carefully, he pushes himself off the bench and heads off the road and into the forest behind him. He keeps his steps short and quiet, and places his feet only on grass, not fallen branches or overgrown roots. As he descends deeper into the forest, the trees grow taller and thicker, and their verdant canopies stretch over his head. While these forests are more secluded than the practice areas in the camp centre, they're not as private as the areas Kusanagi mentioned. Which means whoever is practicing out here is trying not to be seen but, like him, never realised the hidden areas up above.

Sure enough, around a few more trees is a small clearing, maybe twenty or so feet wide, and surrounded by thick tree trunks. Branches and smaller shrubs have been cleared around from the ground and the bases of the trees, and the trunks themselves have been used as targets for sword fight practice. Standing in the middle of the clearing is Ryouken, brandishing a basic, wooden sword. He must have stolen it from one of the practice gyms and carried it out here. He wields it with one hand, twisting it from side to side as he sidesteps and circles the clearing. He lashes out at the the trees, skinning them of their bark and knocking into the supple wood beneath. He seems caught up in an imaginary fight, for not only does he lunge, he parries too.

Jin peers around the trees with his mouth hanging open. Ryouken is one of the newer demigods, and while a skilled strategist and adept fighter, he lacks supernatural abilities that many of the other demigods possess. Beyond that, he's rash, often throwing himself into situation he knows he'll never get out of and losing. The effects of Yuusaku's karma powers only makes those losses even more severe.

To see him practicing out here warms Jin's heart. Typically, Ryouken practices at one of the main dojos, challenging children of Nike and Ares. Sometimes he wins, but as a newer demigod, he usually bites off more than he can chew. He must be practicing though, and with resolve to get better instead of getting his ass handed to him.

At Jin’s hip, his sword bounces against his thigh. If there's anyone he can help, and who truly needs help, it's Ryouken.

Quietly, Jin sneaks around the perimeter, eyes on every movement Ryouken makes. He seems caught up in his own pretend match, and so even when his eyes catch on Jin, who sucks in a breath, Ryouken doesn't respond. He keeps on circling the perimeter, hacking and slashing at the trees. Meanwhile, Jin hides behind a tree. He counts the steps Ryouken takes, waiting for the moment to plunge.

When Ryouken crosses past him, Jin leaps through the tree. With the element of surprise on his side, Ryouken stumbles back when his sword hits another sword, and he falls back to the other side of the clearing. Jin presses forward, knocking his own wooden sword against Ryouken's.

"Keep the match up," he says.

Yet Ryouken's eyes only widen, and instead of narrowing his vision on Jin, he instead begins to search the clearing. Jin tries to knock his sword down against Ryouken's hilt, but instead of easily lunging forward and pushing him back, Ryouken dodges to the side and slips out of the way. He leaps up onto one of the tree branches and out of reach, and throws his head from side to side. His breath comes in heavy pants—not from the physical exertion, but what looks like a response to stress.

Jin quickly throws up a hand. "Just me—"

"Who else?" Ryouken says.

"Just me," Jin repeats. "Now come on down—"

Ryouken jumps to the side and onto another outstretched tree branch. He steadies himself by holding onto the trunk that has yet to be skinned free of its scratchy bark. He keeps on glancing around him, as if looking for something or someone.

Someone ...

"It's just me," Jin says. "Come down here and I'll practice with you."

Ryouken doesn't budge.

_ Fine, I'll come to you. _

Jin pushes off from the ground. Instead of leaping onto the lowest branches like Ryouken, he instead reaches out for one of the taller branches and catches it with his outstretched hands. Just as he sees Ryouken's mouth drop, he kicks out with his legs. Ryouken falls back, legs gripping the branch, and backflips towards the ground. A cool move, Jin thinks, but not meant for speed; in the time it takes for Ryouken to finish the spin and land on the ground, Jin leaps down and draws his sword.

_ Clink! _

It bounces off Ryouken's sword.

"There we go," Jin says.

He jumps back and to the side, and instead of dodging him and heading for another tree, Ryouken presses forward and lunges his blade towards Jin's chest. Jin snaps his blade down to brush off Ryouken's attack, and crosses the clearing once more. This time, he lunges, bringing his blade up, only to twist it and bring it down to dodge Ryouken's oncoming parry. As expected, Jin's solid blade knocks into Ryouken's elbow.

He groans loudly.

"Again," Jin says, weaving to the side. "This time, try to outwit me. Think ahead.”

"I—am—"

Ryouken plunges his blade down towards Jin's toes.

Jin clonks him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Try aga—"

Ryouken kicks his foot out and knocks Jin down to the ground. While not an honest swordsman move, it's effective: Jin tumbles down onto the grass and rolls like a ball. He keeps up the momentum to get himself away from Ryouken, and then pushes off the ground and lands squarely on his feet. When he glances over, Ryouken hasn't charged him yet. Jin brushes himself off and swings his sword around in an arc.

"You had the opportunity to get me."

"You'd already dodged."

Jin clicks his tongue, and scratches his head. "So you gave up?"

"You're going easy."

He  _ almost  _ wants to say "I told you so," to his brother. Almost. But what keeps him grounded isn't Ryouken scowling at the ground, nor the adrenaline pumping through his veins. It's that Ryouken hasn't tossed his sword to the ground and stalked away. Normally when Jin duels demigods, they get frustrated. They give up. But while Ryouken's dominant hand shakes like a leaf in the wind, his knuckles are as white as frost. He hasn't given up.

"But ..." Jin tightens his grip on his sword. "You've gotten stronger too."

He doesn't expect Ryouken to answer, or even listen to him. He doesn't expect him to pay attention to a word he says. And yet Ryouken's features soften, if only just a bit. He still holds his blade like it's his last lifeline, but he brings it up to his chest, crossing it over his heart.

"You have," Jin presses. "You must be practicing lots."

Ryouken scowls at him.

Jin continues on undeterred. "If you want to get stronger, and practice somewhere where no one can find you, you should practice on the islands up above us. No one goes out there."

"This place was  _ fine,"  _ Ryouken says.

A lie. Eventually, another demigod would have found this place, or Spectre would have leaked the location just to get Yuusaku and Takeru here and cause some real trouble. But Jin doesn't need to spell that out to Ryouken. Instead, he points his sword towards Ryouken and smiles.

"I'm sure it still is."

Ryouken dips his head down. But instead of turning tail and leaving, or staring Jin down until he leaves, Ryouken holds his blade out to him too. Jin takes the challenge: he leaps forward and lunges, slashing from side to side. His feet dance across the grassy forest floor, sliding on the dew and catching on bits of upturned grass from where he and Ryouken must have dug their heels in. Jin doesn't have to keep his eyes on the ground, or even on the sky around him. There's no one in sight—no one to challenge him, no one to use him as some lofty role model.

No one but Ryouken, who, for the first time in the match, doesn't flick his gaze out to the horizon. He locks into battle with Jin, and together they fight all through the afternoon until the sun has stretched up into the sky and toppled back down beneath the main island of Camp Vrains. 

Never once does Ryouken throw his sword away. 


End file.
